(This is the fourth in our blog series on Story. If you haven’t read the previous posts yet, I encourage you to read those now.)
I think it’s time we start telling better stories. True ones about the faithfulness, kindness, love, and forgiveness of God that we’ve experienced in our lives. Look around, and you will see people languishing without real hope. If you profess to be a follower of Jesus, telling Hope Stories (see last week’s blog) is part of our mandate from Christ himself.
Scripture is filled with God’s people sharing stories about him in their churches, families, communities, with their neighbors, and even with their enemies. The Psalms, for the most part, written during painful and confusing days, contain passages like this one:
Psalm 71:15-18
15 My mouth will tell of your righteous deeds,
of your saving acts all day long—
though I know not how to relate them all.
16 I will come and proclaim your mighty acts, Sovereign Lord;
I will proclaim your righteous deeds, yours alone.
17 Since my youth, God, you have taught me,
and to this day, I declare your marvelous deeds.
18 Even when I am old and gray,
do not forsake me, my God,
till I declare your power to the next generation,
your mighty acts to all who are to come.
And this one in Psalm 78:1-4:
1Give ear, O my people, to my teaching;
incline your ears to the words of my mouth!
2 I will open my mouth in a parable;
I will utter dark sayings from of old,
3 things that we have heard and known,
that our fathers have told us.
4 We will not hide them from their children,
but tell to the coming generation
the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might,
and the wonders that he has done.
Look back again at the above passages. Do you notice that the older generation is sharing their Hope Story with the younger generation? Whether we see it or not, the generations before us are looking at us; they hear what comes from our mouths, they read our posts, and they see the way we live our lives. We must talk about more than politics or the woes of the day. No matter what side of the political aisle you sit in, politics will never bring lasting hope. Only God and His plan do that. If you, like the Psalmist, wrote in the passages above, have followed Christ since your youth, you have a story to tell that we desperately need to hear. Maybe it has been a while since you remembered those days or reflected on God’s faithfulness in your life. Do it now. Dust off that Hope Story. Let that Story season the words that come from your mouth so that you are a hope giver.
Psalm 78:6 says we tell our Hope Stories so that “the next generation might know them.” They won’t know about God’s faithfulness and goodness unless we tell them. Some of you have lived through great loss in your life. You have endured times of confusion. You have known rejection. You know what it’s like to fail. And yet, here you are still following Christ. What difference did He make to you in your loss, in your confusion, in your rejection, and in your failure? Tell those stories. We need the hope they bring.
I’m going to close with thoughts from the Apostle Peter. He wrote a letter to some people who were suffering terribly to encourage them and fortify their faith in Christ. He tells them to suffer for doing good rather than evil. “Let your words match your faith and the One you believe in,” he admonishes. He writes, “always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:15). Keep following Christ as the Lord of your whole life reflected in the way you live your days. And, be ready to tell your Hope Story with gentleness and respect. Friends, let’s tell the better Story with our words and in our lives. The world is hungry for it.